BS EN ISO 8317:2004 pdf free.Child-Resistant Packaging – Requirements And Testing Procedures For Reclosable Packages.
A significant number of suspected cases of ingestion by children of products used about the home is reported to the medical profession each year. Most are not serious and those that are associated with more serious side effects involve products known to be hazardous, e.g. certain medicinal products, liquid fuels and solvents, strongly acid or alkaline preparations and some garden products. Most commonly used household detergents, cleaning agents and maintenance and care products do not appear on the list of products which have caused injury. However, whether ingestion (actual or suspected) causes injuries or not, such incidents can have traumatic effects on both the child and its parents.
The use of potentially hazardous agents in certain products is necessary to achieve effectiveness; consequently, steps have to be taken to limit the occurrence of accidents. One approach has been to try to increase general awareness of hazards associated with various products; this approach has been used, but public education aimed to protect the child by educating the parent and other adults about correct storage practices, etc. has never been completely effective. Nevertheless, proper labelling and information by the manufacturer is important for the safe use of products in the home.
Another approach has been the use of child-resistant packaging to put a physical barrier between the child and the hazardous product. Such packaging should only be used for products as mentioned above since, if used in other circumstances, it could lead to confusion among consumers. It has to be recognized that it is unrealistic to expect that any functional packaging can be totally impossible for a child to open and that this type of packaging cannot be a substitute for normal safety precautions. The packaging functions as a last defence if other barriers separating children and hazardous products have failed.
Historically, the United States of America was the first country to introduce a standard method of testing based on the inability of 200 children of a specific age and sex distribution to open the package and the ability of 100 adults of a particular age and sex distribution to open and, where applicable, reclose the package properly. Since then, a number of other countries have introduced standard test methods based on similar principles. There are now around the world various types of packagings, which are recognized as child- resistant, based on a test of the nature described. There is evidence that, since these test methods were introduced, the incidence of ingestion by children of hazardous products has fallen. The degree to which this is due to the use of child-restraint packaging as against other factors, such as greater public awareness, is not easily assessed, but there is little doubt that child-resistant packaging has made a positive contribution.
Over the last decade, much has been learned about the use of children for testing child-resistant packaging and attention has been focused on how the number of children involved may be reduced. So far, it has not been possible to achieve an objective set of tests and criteria which would render the use of children in subjective testing unnecessary, but work should be directed towards achieving this aim as a matter of some urgency.
Because of the increasing use of child-restraint packaging, it is desirable to achieve international agreement on testing procedures in order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding in an area of great importance to the safety of young children. An International Standard should also serve to reduce the number of children exposed to “training” during panel testing. However, it should not be supposed that the provision of a standard method for assessing child resistance is all that is needed either nationally or internationally. The test has to be administered by some responsible authority in each country adopting the International Standard, as all have to have confidence in the manner in which testing is carried.
This International Standard specifies the requirements and test methods for reclosable packages designated as resistant to opening by children.
Acceptance criteria are given for the package when tested by specified methods. These methods not only provide a measure of the effectiveness of the package in restricting access by children, but also cover the accessibility to the contents by adults.
Reclosable packages for any product intended to be exposed or removed from the packaging in normal use are covered by the procedures.
This International Standard is intended for type approval only (see 3.1) and is not intended for quality assurance purposes.